The Beginning
/bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/
Welcome to the newsletter by MA Multimedia Journalists at MMU.
We’ll send these out every week to keep you posted with news you may have missed, and a teensy recap from the past week’s teaching. This week’s edition comes from Ruby and Zara.
First Week Back
We jumped back into lectures and in-person learning. Semester two is already pretty hectic
The Project module posed an important question to the group: ‘why is the dog white?’
Dave was impressed with our fast turnaround in Newsroom on seven stories which we did from start to finish in three hours. We also managed to get on Jess’ nerves by asking her for photos from PA Media (sorry Jess!)
News
The biggest collective strike between nurses, university staff, teachers, ambulance staff and others from the public sector took place Wednesday 1st Feb all around the UK. Experts predict nearly half a million went on strike in UK’s largest walkout in 12 years (CGTN Europe)
Earthquake in Syria and Turkey left thousands dead and more injured
Live updates for the Nicola Bulley investigation
Zara G Reports on: Nicola Bulley
One of the big cases we have seen from the last week has been the disappearance of Nicola Bulley. Zara reports the case and what we know so far.
Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen walking next to the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire on the morning of 27th January. She has been reported missing for almost 10 days.
This story has been covered on TikTok in different ways:
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The infographics to track every last known update of her movements from the day of Nicola’s disappearance are given above.
This case has been so widely reported that it has now resulted in social media speculations all over the internet.
Nicola’s friend Tilly Ann has now shared more than ten facts about the family online in an attempt to dispel some of the rumours. You can read Tilly’s post here:
Nicola’s friend Heather Gibbons has also spoken to the BBC on the impact that the social media speculation is causing.
"But to see some of the vile speculation online - some of the theories that are incredibly, incredibly hurtful - I don't think people are realising that the family are sitting at home and are able to access and see all of that."
She said she was concerned that "as [Ms Bulley's daughters] get older, they will be able to look back and they will be able to see everything that was said".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-64529251
Linking this back to what we learned this week about being a digital reporter, it’s important to note that the Bulley family is now being affected by comments made by the general public. Historically when stories like this were published, victims’ families could avoid facing speculations but this is now nearly impossible to do with social media influence.
But as Nick Newman of the Reuters Institute explains in his Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions report, news organisations will fall behind if they don’t adopt digital media and meet fast-changing audience expectations.
Is it worth switching comments off? What is the best course of action in a case like this, to protect the victim’s family?
Also don’t forget about the ‘News Diamond’ : where speed is of the essence and a simple alert can make the audience aware of what is going on while you are composing the bigger piece of writing in the form of a blog or article.
Earthquakes affecting Middle Eastern countries
Let’s not forget the devastation in Turkey, Syria and Lebanon from an earthquake over 7.5 magnitude where thousands have died and the number is expected to rise.
Newspapers are reporting on this differently to each other. While help is on the way from some major allies, only condolences are sent by others.
What does this mean about international relations?
How to get started with the Substack newsletter
Each week we’ll be passing the virtual baton to another duo from our team. We’d like to help the next writers penning the newsletter and offer three tips to get you stuck in.
Look through the Interhacktives website for ideas on how to engage your audience through our newsletter
Do your research to find what is happening this week which would be relevant, perhaps linking to live blogs or additional reading we can all do
Keep in mind the main question we asked ourselves from last week: ‘How do we know what we are doing in journalism?’
That’s all from us this week.
Thanks a bunch and looking forward to seeing what you produce next.
Ruby and Zara x